Alabama teen's hacking hits N.C. school records

MOBILE, ALA. -- A 16-year-old student was expelled and faces possible felony charges after allegedly hacking into a computer system that linked school districts in North Carolina and six other Southeastern states, authorities said.

The Daphne High School student locked up computer servers and deleted student files and databases at schools in Alabama, Georgia, Texas, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina and South Carolina, said Maj. Anthony Lowery of the Baldwin County Sheriff's Office.

The student, whose name was not released because of his age, apparently gained access to computer networks at 47 school districts, Lowery told the Mobile Press-Register in a story Tuesday.

The hacking took place at school, but investigators also seized a computer from the teen's home that may have been used.

The teenager uncovered demographic information about students during about a two-week period in March, Lowery said. But there was "no harvesting, farming, collecting or spreading of any personal information," he said.

The Sheriff's Office became aware of the hacking when the software company that works with Baldwin schools and other districts noticed a problem, Lowery said.

The student apparently tried to hack into Baldwin school computers but was thwarted by anti-tampering software, school board spokesman Terry Wilhite said.

The teen had been taking a Web design class and many Daphne High classrooms have computers, Baldwin County Sheriff's Sgt. Tony Nolfe said.

Investigators were still trying to determine whether the student did anything with the information he found.

"This began as sort of an intellectual challenge for him," Nolfe said. "Why it took a turn toward malicious acts, I guess only he could answer."

Damage caused by the hacking could cost thousands of dollars, officials said. All the information had been backed up and appears to have been saved, Nolfe said.

The student could be charged with offenses against intellectual property. Under Alabama law, that offense becomes a Class B felony punishable by up to 20 years in prison if the damage was more than $2,500 or "there is an interruption or impairment of governmental operation or public communication."